[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by melaniek93

i guess i haven't put that much effort into the job search and living because i do have the option of living with my mom while school is out and be able to actually go to job interviews in person and be able to do my research in person aswell.....is this not a good plan? not quite sure but any input would be much appreciated....

Staying at your mom's house definitely gives you options not available to everyone who is considering relocating.

Tolerance for uncertainty and risk-taking varies between people, and even within a person over the course of a life. When I was in my early 20s, I was far more willing to simply take off somewhere and then figure out how I was going to get by after I arrived. Now that I'm in my mid-40s, I wouldn't consider such a thing. Now I want to know up front that I will have a comfortable home and an income source. Any changes I make also impact my husband and 4 cats, who weren't around when I was first casting about for where to live. (At that time, I had no husband and just one cat, and she was extraordinarily adaptable.)

If you're at a good time in your life to explore a new place, and you even have a friendly home to stay at while you're doing it, that sounds like a good plan to me.

[KNOTTE]

MRVphotog mentioned Salary.com in their post....

I have not used the COL calculator, but I will say that I have done some research on salaries on Salary.com and the salaries posted on their site are WAY off base. I'm not sure where they got their data from, but their salaries are way overstated, in some cases 1.5 - 2.0 times what real salaries in the area are. I work for one of the best employers in the area with very competitive salaries and our pay rates didn't even land on their salary scale in some cases!! I wouldn't say their data is reliable.

[BurlingtonCallum]

I am 26 and moved to Burlington late last year because I was supposed to be living in Montreal. I had a job lined up with an online business, but they dropped the ball on helping me acquire a work visa (I am originally from America and not a dual-citizen). I am also not an ex-patriot, basically at the time Canada's dollar was amazing and I needed better income. But I also wanted to stay near my girlfriend (attends college in MTL) and close to the many friends I've mad in Canada over the years. I had a former roommate in Philadelphia who graduated from UVM and I called them up. They had only positive things to say about Burlington, except that the job rate in Vermont was terrible.

Could not be any truer. It took me almost Four months to Find ONE GOOD JOB, even with a college degree and years of online business experience. That seems to be one of the major issues in B-Town. There are plenty of places hiring part-time counter workers, but no big paying salaries. I make ok money now working in web analytics, but it's really only good for Vermont. If I had the same salary in Philly, I'd be just getting by. If I had this salary in NY/NJ I'd be bar tending at night to make ends meat!

Reasons to move to Burlington, VT:
-Good Public Transit
-A small but entertaining downtown (good pubs, food, decent music scene, though too many jam bands for my taste)
-Friendly locals
-Best Reason: 1.5 hour drive to MONTREAL...so if you have nothing to do on a Saturday night, just drive or Greyhound it to MTL!
-GREAT local beer
-In walking distance to everything
-UVM girls
-Many NY/NJ exiles, which I like, being from NJ originally

Reasons to NOT live in Burlington, VT:
-It's Vermont, if you leave Burlington it's like South Carolina, only colder
-No cultural variety, it may be the whitest city in the country
-Rent/Utilities are not cheap yet not expensive (though I choose to live alone, making it a bit harder)
-Locals are friendly, but also a little "off" - Maybe it's the long winters, or the lack of things to do during those winters, but everyone I've met who's lived here for more than a decade seem to be kinda nuts (nothing personal against long time residents, this is my personal experience)
-It's F-ing COLD in the winter (and I lived in Montreal for a short time, though there you are underground/indoors more)
-UVM girls
-Lack of any 7-11/Wawa/Quick Check type 24/hr store
-Many Boston exiles (sir, there's only one "A" in "car")
-Lots of drugs (but if that's your thing, move it to the pros)
-It gets old...FAST

To sum it all up - If you want to live kinda out of the way but have the virtue of public transit (city bus, greyhound, amtrak, airport), and a fun city atmosphere, and you are not looking to strike it rich, but live decently, and you like good beer and freezing cold, Burlington may be the place for you.
It has drawbacks, though it beats the hell out of the south Philly neighborhood I used to live in, then again that may not be saying much - some parts of Beirut look nicer then certain parts of Philadelphia. Oddly enough, I plan on moving back down that way (at least to a place like Philly/Brooklyn) in a couple of years...My two main concerns are salary (not enough money to keep me in Burlington for years) and the fact that I won't be able to handle too many of these winters.

[sundialstreet]

Originally Posted by BurlingtonCallum

I am 26 and moved to Burlington late last year because I was supposed to be living in Montreal. I had a job lined up with an online business, but they dropped the ball on helping me acquire a work visa (I am originally from America and not a dual-citizen). I am also not an ex-patriot, basically at the time Canada's dollar was amazing and I needed better income. But I also wanted to stay near my girlfriend (attends college in MTL) and close to the many friends I've mad in Canada over the years. I had a former roommate in Philadelphia who graduated from UVM and I called them up. They had only positive things to say about Burlington, except that the job rate in Vermont was terrible.

Could not be any truer. It took me almost Four months to Find ONE GOOD JOB, even with a college degree and years of online business experience. That seems to be one of the major issues in B-Town. There are plenty of places hiring part-time counter workers, but no big paying salaries. I make ok money now working in web analytics, but it's really only good for Vermont. If I had the same salary in Philly, I'd be just getting by. If I had this salary in NY/NJ I'd be bar tending at night to make ends meat!

Reasons to move to Burlington, VT:
-Good Public Transit
-A small but entertaining downtown (good pubs, food, decent music scene, though too many jam bands for my taste)
-Friendly locals
-Best Reason: 1.5 hour drive to MONTREAL...so if you have nothing to do on a Saturday night, just drive or Greyhound it to MTL!
-GREAT local beer
-In walking distance to everything
-UVM girls
-Many NY/NJ exiles, which I like, being from NJ originally

Reasons to NOT live in Burlington, VT:
-It's Vermont, if you leave Burlington it's like South Carolina, only colder
-No cultural variety, it may be the whitest city in the country
-Rent/Utilities are not cheap yet not expensive (though I choose to live alone, making it a bit harder)
-Locals are friendly, but also a little "off" - Maybe it's the long winters, or the lack of things to do during those winters, but everyone I've met who's lived here for more than a decade seem to be kinda nuts (nothing personal against long time residents, this is my personal experience)
-It's F-ing COLD in the winter (and I lived in Montreal for a short time, though there you are underground/indoors more)
-UVM girls
-Lack of any 7-11/Wawa/Quick Check type 24/hr store
-Many Boston exiles (sir, there's only one "A" in "car")
-Lots of drugs (but if that's your thing, move it to the pros)
-It gets old...FAST

To sum it all up - If you want to live kinda out of the way but have the virtue of public transit (city bus, greyhound, amtrak, airport), and a fun city atmosphere, and you are not looking to strike it rich, but live decently, and you like good beer and freezing cold, Burlington may be the place for you.
It has drawbacks, though it beats the hell out of the south Philly neighborhood I used to live in, then again that may not be saying much - some parts of Beirut look nicer then certain parts of Philadelphia. Oddly enough, I plan on moving back down that way (at least to a place like Philly/Brooklyn) in a couple of years...My two main concerns are salary (not enough money to keep me in Burlington for years) and the fact that I won't be able to handle too many of these winters.

I miss WaWa! I was totally burnt on Vermont, until I scored a fantastic job, which keeps me in the state less than 9 days a month and making 10 X the amount some pathetic non profit had the cheek to offer me for the same job.

I find Vermont much more tolerable now, since I'm rarely here and get to spend a lot of time around bright, well-rounded and truly open minded people. I find Vermont and its people rather amusing now, and not nearly as flat as I did before.

[KNOTTE]

Originally Posted by sundialstreet

I miss WaWa! I was totally burnt on Vermont, until I scored a fantastic job, which keeps me in the state less than 9 days a month and making 10 X the amount some pathetic non profit had the cheek to offer me for the same job.

I find Vermont much more tolerable now, since I'm rarely here and get to spend a lot of time around bright, well-rounded and truly open minded people. I find Vermont and its people rather amusing now, and not nearly as flat as I did before.

Where do you work? I want a job like that!